The industry needs a better way to survey software

Now that January is in the rear view mirror, we're presented with our first opportunity to see which browsers are off to a promising start in 2014 and which ones are destined to be also-rans. The problem with attempting to do so is the lack of reliable data. To show you what we mean, let's first look at data from NetApplications, which has Internet Explorer in a dominant position with a 58.21 percent share of the browser market. Looking at the numbers, IE is pretty much untouchable.

Net Applications data show trends in users changing browsers

Are you a faithful Firefox or Google Chrome user? It appears a good portion of Firefox users are jumping ship to join the Google Chrome bandwagon. Statistics from Net Applications show (via PCWorld) a sharp decline in Firefox usage, with a rise in users flocking to Google Chrome during June and July.

There are lots of ways to save money on your car insurance. A good agent will help you find all the discounts available to you, but would you be willing to switch browsers if it meant a cheaper rate? To be clear, that's probably never going to be an option, but what is happening is that Firefox users, on average, end up paying cheaper premiums than those who drive any other browser.

In case further proof is needed that mobile devices are the hottest items on the planet right now, consider that, for the very first time, tablets and handheld devices like smartphones and media players now account for more than 10 percent of all web browsing, according to data collected by Net Market Share. The desktop is still the dominant platform in the surfing space, and probably will be for a long while to come, but there's no denying the mobile movement.

Google’s Chrome browser has had a feature for the last few months that pre-loads web pages when you are searching on Google. Now that feature has been expanded in the new Chrome beta to include pages typed into the omnibox. Sites that Chrome auto-completes will load in the background before you press enter. The result is what appears to be blisteringly-fast page loads.

Whether you're making a purchase from an online store, signing up for a new service or renewing an old one, when online forms work, they work very well... until your web browser crashes and the burning rage of one thousand suns eats all that was once good in your life as a result. Fortunately, for Chrome and Firefox users, the days of form-related hissy fits may soon be nothing more than an ugly memory, thanks to Lazarus, our Browser Extension of the Week.

After months of trials and tweaking in the Chrome experimental and beta channels, Google has finally added multi-account logins to Chrome’s official build. The feature is now called “Sign in to Chrome,” but was previously being called Chrome Sync. Users will have the option to authorize any copy of Chrome they use to pull down bookmarks, web history, extensions, and more.

Odds are that more than a few of you are running a little browser extension called AdBlock Plus. This software was originally developed to combat the obnoxious ads of yesteryear, but its developer says things have changed, and he now wants to use AdBlock to reward sites that run “non-invasive” ads. As a result, the default set up of AdBlock Plus will soon block fewer ads.

Earlier in the week Microsoft unveiled a new online security test to help educate users on the dangers of surfing with outdated browsers. The concept is noble, but they also succeeded in stirring up the Mozilla folks, and with just cause. The site yourbrowsermatters.org gives visitors the impression it is verifying features to assign a well-researched security score between 0-4, when in reality, it does little more than check the agent string to see what brand and version you are using. Internet Explorer 9 rakes in a perfect score of 4, IE 8 comes in at 3, and the latest versions of Firefox and Chrome come up at 2 & 2.5 respectively.

When Amazon introduced the Kindle Fire tablet, the cloud accelerated Silk browser was one of the headlining features. While the speed and ease of use supposedly offered by Silk is intriguing, some privacy-minded folks are a little concerned. Since all your traffic is passing though Amazon, your browsing history could be at risk.